Why hasn’t Illinois turned down Title V abstinence-only money? Maybe because Illinois not only receives one of the largest chunks of abstinence-only funds, but it hosts two of the largest providers of the curricula.

What is a faith-based crisis pregnancy center doing teaching abstinence-only in a public school? That’s what Susan Rodriguez wondered, when her daughter Sarah told her what she had learned in a five-day “health” course.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell may soon re-enroll the state in the federal Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program. This decision would represent the prioritizing of short term political gain over the long term health of Pennsylvania’s young people.

Five years ago, federal funding for abstinence-only programs had ballooned and only California was refusing Title V abstinence-only funds. But the present portrait — flat funding and 25 states refusing funds — is very different.

by Marcela Howell, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda

July 16, 2008 - 7:00 am

Home to Netroots Nation this week, the progressive convention for political activists and bloggers, Texas is also home to the highest teen birth rate in the nation while spending more on abstinence-only programs than any state. The mix is the perfect recipe for political change.

At a state policy briefing on Thursday morning, Iowa legislators were asked to end federally funded abstinence-only sex education in the state. The move would make Iowa the seventeenth state to reject Title V abstinence-only funding.

In one fell swoop, President Bush tells children he won’t ensure they receive health care – but he will make sure they’re at risk for sexually transmitted infections as a result of the abstinence-only programs his administration will continue to fund.